Parliamentary election in Serbia consolidates President Vucic's power

Elections - Parliamentary election in Serbia consolidates President Vucic's power

According to election researchers, President Aleksandar Vucic 's party clearly won the early parliamentary elections in Serbia on Sunday. After counting 90 percent of the votes cast, the Belgrade-based institutes Cesid and Ipsos saw the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) as the clear winner with 46 percent of the vote. This would have given it an absolute majority in the People's Assembly (Skupstina) with 128 out of 250 seats. The election was overshadowed by accusations of manipulation by the opposition.

Vucic had called the election just 17 months after the last parliamentary elections. Although the president decides almost everything in the country himself, he had become nervous: Following two killing sprees in May, which left 18 people dead, a spontaneous protest movement had formed demanding an end to his rule.

Vucic also came under pressure because of the former Serbian province of Kosovo, which is now almost exclusively inhabited by Albanians. Serbia insists on its claim to the territory of Kosovo, which has been independent since 2008. The West is calling for a settlement of the conflict and presented a plan at the beginning of the year that envisages de facto recognition of Kosovo's statehood by Serbia. Vucic negotiated with Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti, but refused to sign any agreements.

The outcome of Sunday 's election should give Vucic some relief for the time being, especially as the SNS gained two percentage points compared to the last election. On election night, he spoke to supporters of a "clear, unambiguous and convincing victory". "Now is the time for us to move our country forward, for Serbia to move forward," he added.

Liberal opposition performs relatively well

The liberal opposition, which had formed the electoral alliance "Serbia against Violence" (SPN) after the killing spree in May, did relatively well. With 24 percent of the vote, it gained 65 mandates according to election researchers and became the second strongest force. At the same time, it had hoped to bring about a change of power in the municipal elections held at the same time in the capital Belgrade.

A stalemate emerged there on election night. Neither SNS nor SPN are likely to have a majority in the city assembly that elects the mayor. The new list of the doctor and right-wing populist Branimir Nestorovic, which surprisingly also made it into the state parliament with 5 percent of the vote, tipped the scales.

In Belgrade in particular, the election was overshadowed by allegations of fraud against the presidential party. "Today we witnessed unprecedented electoral violence," said opposition leader Miroslav Aleksic. "According to our estimates, 40,000 identity cards were issued in Belgrade to people who do not live here." Media reported buses carrying people from the Serbian part of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Belgrade arena, where they are said to have taken part in the election.

Vucic is accused of an authoritarian style of government

Vucic, who has governed the country's politics in various capacities since 2012, repeatedly uses early elections to ensure the loyalty of his officials and supporters. Although he has no longer formally been SNS chairman since May, he continues to determine the fate of the party. He was heavily involved in the election campaign. The SNS was on the ballot paper as a list with the name "Aleksandar Vucic - Serbia must not stand still". Critics accuse him of having an authoritarian style of government.

According to these voices, Vucic abuses the government apparatus, police and secret services in order to ruin political rivals economically and defame them in public. At the same time, the critics accuse those in power around Vucic of being in league with organized crime. Assaults on members of the opposition are often carried out by thugs from this milieu.

Elections were also held on Sunday for the Chamber of Deputies of the semi-autonomous northern province of Vojvodina and 65 of 197 municipal councils in the country, including the one in Belgrade. The state election commission will announce the provisional final results this Monday.